The Loss of Evelyn
by Morning Sun Of Pandora
Summary: What happened the night Bryan came home after his failed attempt to change his mate and wife, Evelyn. This is a one-shot of how Mercy reacts at the loss of her foster-mother, Evelyn. Includes the Cornick family (Bran, Samuel, and Charles) and Bryan.


**Hello everyone.**

 **This is my first one-shot that I've written for all categories.**

 **I was re-reading my books, as I always do when I'm bored or in the mood.**

 **So I was reading Moon Called, Book #1, and thought up this scene when Mercy began talking about her foster parents and their deaths.**

 **So this is a one-shot explaining how I think Bryan and Mercy handled and behaved during and after Evelyn's death – it will be set in Mercedes's POV.**

 **They don't give an exact date just that the wolves are given a chance to change around October. So, I'll assume that's when Bryan attempted to change Evelyn. So this is set when Mercy is 14 in October, the night of the full moon.**

* * *

I was lying on my bed, flat on my stomach, finishing up a history essay, due the following Friday.

Evelyn and Bryan had left the house one hour before the sun set. I wasn't stupid – I knew why they had both left.

Tonight was the full moon of October. On the full moon of October, Bran allowed anyone who lived there to step forward and be changed into a werewolf. At full moon, Bran would change and then savage anyone who wished to be a werewolf, though for some their loved ones who were werewolves would savage them. I knew that's they left. They had gone to gather with the others and Bryan would change Evelyn there.

Part of me was anxious and worried sick. Werewolf females were rarely moon called and the ones who were were sometimes killed shortly after, due to lack of control over their wolf, or not being able to change without help.

 _She'll be fine._ I think to myself. _She's strong, so she'll come back home like she always does and we can enjoy the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas._

A few hours passed and I had finished my history paper and was currently lying on my bed and reading a book of mystery.

Around midnight, the front door opened and Bryan's scent wafted into my nose. I close my book and set it on my bed before hopping off and running out of my room. I took a sharp turn around the corner, hanging onto the bannister so I didn't skid into the wall. I ran down the steps to meet my foster parents with hope but stopped at the last two steps, in full view of Bryan.

My hopeful smile that she had wanted to greet her foster parents with in congratulations fell when Bryan closed the door behind him. Evelyn wasn't with him. But I smelled a stale scent of Evelyn on my foster father, as well as her blood.

Bryan looked up at me with sad, dull, grieving eyes. Tears pricked my own as I shook my head once, slowly and glanced down, before looking up at him and shook it a little faster in silent objection. As if in answer he looked down and sighed stomping his boots on the mat, leaving remnants of snow and walked over to my trembling figure.

"Mercedes…" He began, but he didn't get to finish. A tear had already rolled down my cheek, before I let out a sound of grief and sorrow.

I hung my head a bit and another sound escaped me before I began crying softly. I felt him pull me into his arms against his chest and let out a slight involuntary cry of loss and my foster father just held me tighter.

He just held me and somehow we both ended up on the steps, me in his lap, while he rested his back against the wall.

I didn't stop to wonder why he wasn't crying because I'd seen his red eyes the minute he looked me in the eyes after shutting the door. He probably did his share on the drive back home, if not back in the woods.

Several minutes later, he tucked me in and kissed my forehead and I heard his faint whisper. "We'll get through this Mercy." His weight leaves the side of my bed and he leaves and heads out the front door.

I thought he was leaving, but a few seconds later, a howl broke the silent, fall air. The howl sounded a little off coming from a human's throat, but the grief, sorrow, and pain was unmistakable.

He came back in 2 minutes later and went to his room closing the door and falling asleep for the night.

* * *

 **The Next Morning…**

* * *

It was 1 hour before the funeral and Bryan and I were getting ready for Evelyn's funeral.

We had eaten though it seemed like we were eating cardboard and trying our hardest to swallow. Neither of us had said anything to each other. Just ate silently as the house seemed to smell of grief and sadness.

We were now finishing with our attire.

I was wearing a two-strapped black dress that came down to my knees. I had on matching heels as well, with a black bracelet (having been living in Aspen Creek since I was baby, I had been given plenty of time to get used to the constant funerals, which means attire concerning it wasn't a problem). I wore my hair down instead of its usual braids or ponytail. I let out a sigh as I knock on Bryan's door, before cracking it open to see him slowly fumbling with his tie.

He wore a standard black suit with black dress shoes. His hair was slicked back a little and groomed correctly.

I walked over and turned him a bit and began doing his tie. He was looking down avoiding eye contact. When I finished I gently patted the fabric and sighed, before looking up at him.

"We'll get through this, remember?" I ask gently, trying to remind him of the words that had helped the night before.

He nodded slightly with a soft sigh and gave me a hug which I accepted and returned.

We parted after a few moments and headed downstairs to the car.

The drive to the church was silent and hollow. Usually Evelyn and Bryan would be chatting with each other, while I listened, or sometimes joined in myself. Now it was silent and the sound of the car and road we drove on was easily heard.

When they arrived they both got out and shut the doors to already see other cars there as well, but not too many: Bran's, Samuel's, Charles, and a couple of others that I didn't recognize.

When we went inside the people who were there didn't turn to look at us. We just went to a que that was behind whom I assumed to be Evelyn's parents. Bran and his sons were seated in the same row as our cue, except on the opposite side of the aisle. A few other people were scattered a little, which I took to mean they were friends. I had expected more wolves, despite known the fact that some wolves didn't know Evelyn or like her because of her human status, but she was still pack. I quite wondering when I realized Evelyn was most likely not the only one who didn't survive the change. Which meant Bran was here because the families had asked for private funerals, or maybe they had been scheduled at different times.

The pastor began speaking and I listened and somehow managed not to cry as a few of them did. A few people went up and said a few good words in farewell or memory for Evelyn. Bryan offered, but I refused quietly and he understood why, because it was the same reason he wouldn't do so. Her casket was open so anyone who went up could see her face clearly – it was bad even half of it could be seen just sitting down.

The rest of the funeral was quick and a few tears were shed. Evelyn's mother was sobbing as her daughter was lowered into the ground and even I shed a few tears. A few of her friends that she was close with were crying silently as well, while the others who weren't shedding tears just looked sad or were close to breaking down as well. Once flowers were placed by her gravestone everyone began to depart. Samuel had given me a one armed hug and kissed my temple, whispering a soft reassurance. He nodded to Bryan before jogging off to handle an emergency at the hospital.

At one point, Bryan was pulled away by Charles to speak with Bran, and I was left looking down at my foster mother's grave. I missed her so much and wished she was still here. But she was gone. Buried. Just like my real father, Joe Old Coyote. I stayed where I was until Bryan put an arm around me.

"Ready?" He asks in a stronger voice, that didn't sound like the one of a grieving husband. "I'm here if you want to talk." I looked up at him and he gave a sad smile, "We'll get through this remember? What would Lyn want to us to do?"

I return the smile, "Not feel sorry and spend the rest of our days grieving. She'd want us to be happy; to move on."

We both glance at Evelyn's grave, before turning and heading back to the car. On the drive back home, the atmosphere felt lighter and not too dull. We even talked on the way back and I was able to get Bryan to laugh a couple times. It was a start and we both knew it would take a while. But our spirits felt a little lifted as if we knew things would get better and that Evelyn would be watching over us.

When we got home, the first thing we did was continue our day of happy mourning. We took out photos of us as a family and fixed hot cocoa with marshmallows the way Evelyn always did and reminisced.

 **In Memory of Evelyn.**

 **A Daughter**

 **A Mate & Wife.**

 **A Mother.**

 **Forever Beloved.**

* * *

 **A/N: So that's the end of this one-shot. I hope you enjoyed it. I may write a sequel which involves Bryan's death.**

 **I hope I did the character behaviors and personalities correctly. I've read all the books except the graphic novels (comics). So I did Bryan's personality from as best as I could gather. Samuel and Charles were a bit easy since they didn't have much. Mercy was a little difficult since I know she's strong-willed and does her best to not to cry, but considering she was 14 and her mother-figure who she spent the most time with was dead, I thought this warranted a bit of open emotion. And you'll forgive me for lack of Bran interface – he's an enigma to write behavior about, so I'll leave that to Patricia Briggs for now. So I left it to where it seemed like Bran and his sons left Mercy and Bryan to mourn together, since they knew Evelyn best.**

 **Also for any who were wondering, the words at the end, starting after: In Memory of Evelyn, were also engraved on her grave stone. I didn't go into detail of what, because I didn't know what to put for her last name. She and Bryan are literally referred to as their first names or foster parents/mother/father.**


End file.
